Inclusive Classrooms For Students With Disabilities

Developing an inclusive school ethos is crucial if inclusion is to be understood (Booth & Ainscow, 2002). Within my own setting, we have worked hard to challenge prejudice and discrimination against children with disabilities and special educational needs. Again, like other schools, we still have more to do as we are far from perfect. In all that we say and do, we make a strong case for inclusion, and we try to go ‘the extra mile’ to provide education that is inclusive to all.

Children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and most excluded in the world. Their rights are often violated. These children are often hidden at home or placed in special institutions. As a result, these children are missing out on education. They grow up apart from their families and their parents fear that their children with disabilities will be mocked. Parents also fear that they will not have a chance to take part in society. Inclusion is complete acceptance of all students. Loving parents want the best possible education for their daughter or son and when hearing your child will be in a classroom with students with disabilities, parents may worry that this will not help them reach their full potential. Inclusion in schools is controversial and confusing topic for many people especially for those who do not understand what inclusion is. Without inclusion there would be no sense of belonging within the classroom community. Inclusion is not the same as integration or mainstreaming. Inclusion is a term that expresses commitment to educate children to their appropriate potential. This usually means placing students with disabilities in the same classrooms as students that do not have disabilities as much as possible and in these classrooms there would be a special education teacher present at all times in addition to the regular teacher (Muccio 2014). Inclusion also consists of providing disabled students the necessary accommodations outside of the classroom.

Inclusion is the act of placing students with disabilities into the general education classroom. Students are given the tools, time, and resources necessary to actively participate in all aspects of the general education classroom. Inclusion is not just adding a student with disabilities into the classroom, but genuinely including them as valued members of the classroom. Inclusion is not an easy system to put into practice because it requires a great deal of teamwork and cooperation between teachers, administrators, and parents. Positive Inclusion programs closely supervise the social and academic progress to ensure the students are thriving. When inclusion is done correctly, the teacher finds a way to meet the student’s needs in a way that is natural and unobtrusive. The resources and supports in an inclusion classroom benefit all students, not just the students with disabilities.

In elementary school, my classroom had students with and without disabilities, and we all shared the same space while working towards a common goal, but over time this diverse community diminished. This phenomenon of tracking and hierarchy of opportunity in education that I notice today is also responsible for creating an environment in which secondary special education is often a segregated locale, physically and socially removed from mainstream public schooling. I've witnessed Syracuse University push against this norm and challenge these boundaries time and time again, and I feel that before entering my own my classroom I want to address these issues of homogeneity and continue to build my tool box of inclusionary practices that extend past my current

The notion of inclusion is progressively being accepted as a vital method of learning in our growing school systems. I believe that every student, those with and without exceptionalities, have the right to be included in a general education classroom. Students with learning, social and behavioral exceptionalities or varied abilities deserve the right to be provided with the same opportunities as any other students in the regular general education classroom. The information that I have acquired through my own experiences (in my observations and my classes) have molded my goals as a future teacher. I believe that teaching and education are fundamental in getting students to grow, learn, and flourish;

When setting up an inclusive learning environment we need to focus on individual differences. Francis and Gould (2013: p65) explain, that “it is important to recognise the differences in the learners we teach, as these influence how we interact with them.” Francis and Gould (2013) list few typical differences, like age, physical disability, mental health issues, ethnicity, etc.

Inclusion can be defined as the act of being present at regular education classes with the support and services needed to successfully achieve educational goals. Inclusion in the scholastic environment benefits both the disabled student and the non-disabled student in obtaining better life skills. By including all students as much as possible in general or regular education classes all students can learn to work cooperatively, learn to work with different kinds of people, and learn how to help people in tasks. “As Stainback, Stainback, East, and Sapon-Shevin (1994) have noted, ‘...the goal of inclusion in schools is to create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

The literature that was provided in the introduction that was given about the issue is up-to-date as far as 2011. No other literature after 2011 has been presented. The literature provided brings attention to why the transition from early intervention programs to inclusive school settings with children with developing disabilities is important and the literature shows to be relevant. The literature supports the researchers’ main arguments in the introduction of the study. However, there is a gap in the research on the effects of inclusion in mainstream classrooms in that the research is very limited.

Social inclusion is understood as a process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, so that they can achieve their full potential in life. It is a multi-dimensional process aimed at creating conditions which enable full and active participation of every member of the society in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision making processes. Social inclusion is understood as the process by which societies combat poverty and social exclusion. One of many goals of special education is to give students with disabilities the opportunity to participate in the least restrictive environment so that they receive as much education as possible with non-disabled students. There are many strategies and models school systems are using to ensure special education students are participating within the mainstream classroom setting; however, the inclusion model seems to prove to be the most beneficial in the areas of academic achievement and social interaction. The inclusion model centers on educating students with disabilities in the general education setting along with their non-disabled peers. Most general education teachers do have concerns about teaching students with learning

Over (for) the past decade Inclusion in special education has been a controversial topic among administration, teachers, and parents. Inclusion represents the belief that students with disabilities should be integrated into the general education classroom whether or not they cannot meet traditional curriculum standards. The purpose of the study is to examine the potential advantages and disadvantages of inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education classroom. The hypothesis is that students with disabilities can benefit from inclusion. The implications is that those who favor inclusion believe that disabled students in the regular classroom will be more accepted by their peers, (develop new friendships)have balanced relationships, and gain more academic knowledge through small group and teacher instruction. This in turn, will result in continued higher achievement. The survey consisted of demographic information, 26 Likert scale items and one comment section. The surveys were disturbed to staff members, including special education and general education teachers in one elementary school. Results of the survey were tabulated with frequencies and percentages for each response reported.

Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education

Over the past twenty years, there has been a strong movement within schools around the United States to integrate students with disabilities in to general education classrooms. Schools have been making more efforts to increase educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and while there are many benefits to inclusion, there are also many challenges. Inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom continues to be the center of debate amongst administrators and teachers. Everyone has their own ideas and attitudes towards inclusion, and research studies have revealed that there are many things that contribute to those positive or negative attitudes.

In first being able to define inclusive education, it is necessary to understand the diversity of the student population. Disability comes in my varying forms and can be physical, sensory, intellectual, mental health and emotional, developmental, and non-visible (e.g. asthma). If disability was the only agent to consider in the diversity scenario things would be easier for teachers but there are a number of other classifications of students to consider: Gifted or talented; English as a second language (ESL); Indigenous students; and many other classifications which fall under the societal/family/personal heading (Ashman & Elkin, 2012).

(2010) expanded my thinking and knowledge of inclusive education. The concept of inclusion of all, as defined by Armstrong et. al. (2010) means that inclusion is relevant for all groups and individuals, not just those with disabilities previously excluded from the mainstream of school and society. This new way of thinking provides an opportunity to reflect on how I view inclusion. In the past, there was a delivery system for mandated services for students with disabilities. Now, the notion of inclusion expands to all students. Services for all students is ideal for academic achievement; differentiating the services in a strategic way will make all the